"Hey, how's Izzy doing?" Mac asked as Julie walked by the table he had planted himself at for the night, for the third night in a row demanding whiskey and being a general dick. Julie turned and looked down at him as Walter watched from the bar ready to jump in if needed. Julie was angry that he brought up Izzy, maybe the only person left in the world that still saw good in him. After her dream that morning she was none too pleased to see him in the flesh.
She was also not happy to see Suzie Marshall hanging all over him like he was the second coming of Christ. Like it or not, he would leave with that one tonight and make sure Julie knew all about it.
In Walter's opinion, Mac needed to get his ass out in the caves where he belonged, he had enough of him hanging around and bothering Julie. If he wasn't going to get a straight job then he needed to do what he did best, make meth. If he wasn't going to do that then he needed to stop hanging around the bar being a pain in the ass.
Case closed, this game he was playing of trying to make her jealous was so childish, but Walter knew it was also working.
They both needed to get shit straightened out, there was a three-day cook coming up and Walter had orders to fill. There was no time for this crap and, at the moment walking the straight line was not on Mac's agenda. His agenda it seemed was to harass Julie and get high. Walter had no time to referee and furthermore he resented that Julie didn't bring Michael to work now, above all he liked spending time with his grandson. He was a different person with Michael than he was with his own kids, he missed sitting in his office coloring with the boy.
Mac was using, and as long as he was Julie wouldn't bring Michael around him, so that cut into the time Walter got to see the boy too. Mac was fucking up Walter's program and it was only a matter of time before they came to blows.
"Hey, I asked you a question?" Mac slurred, "How is Izzy?"
For whatever reason, her aunt loved this man, and always did, and he knew that was a way to get his foot back in the door. All his life he had been charming women and Julie's aunt was one of them. She didn't care that he cooked and sold drugs, she didn't care that he was borderline abusive, Isabelle loved Mac.
She had loved him when he was a thirteen-year-old kid chasing after her niece, she loved him when he moved in with them when they found out Michael was coming. Izzy loved him when he was arrested for possession with intent to distribute and manufacturing, she loved him now, despite who he was and Isabelle believed he was her niece's soulmate.
By happenstance and some cosmic shit, they had made a beautiful child together. They had been on the precipice of a beautiful life and Izzy still believed it was possible.
"She's fine."
"She up for a visit?" He asked, "You think?"
"It's not gonna work..." She answered and started to walk away, he reached up and took her arm, "Knock it off, keep your hands to yourself," She pulled away, but looked back at him, which was what he wanted.
Mac was ignoring Suzie now, "Suzie, why don't you go powder your nose or somethin," He said and the girl reluctantly got up and did as he told her to, then he turned back to Julie.
"Why'd you make her leave on my account?" Julie snarked as he reached for her again and she backed away from him.
" Funny," Mac stared her down, "You never had complaints about my hands on you before, even when we weren't getting along all that good." He grinned at her, letting his words sink in to remind her of their love/ hate relationship previously," I can give you a reminder," He cocked his head to the side and held his hands up together to mimic being tied. He had tied her up in a rage once and it had been hot; neither of them would ever forget it, he could see her eye twitch but she never looked away, " Not interested? That's fine." He stood up and looked down at her, making sure she got his meaning, he was bigger than her and powerful, " Now, I'm gonna go say hi to your aunt who's been helping you take care of my boy all this time, tell her thank you. You got a problem with that?"
"Do what you want, you will anyway."
"Like it or not Julie, we got history, we got a kid together and we are always going to be chained together by that." He spat out, "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere again."
"You're right, I don't like it one bit and I don't like what you've become, you're using again," She yelled, "It could have been so different for us, and now I just hate you."
"Don't worry sweetheart, it's mutual." It wasn't, and he wanted her back, but he wasn't letting her know that. He just had to figure out how to extricate her from Jack, somehow he thought tying her to a bed might not work this time, although he was tempted to do it just the same, just for fun.
"You'll just get busted again and go right back in the clink, I can see it now," Julie said, breaking his concentration on just how he was going to get back into her life and bed.
"Joke's on you then," He quirked his eyebrow at her, "I'm not gonna ever get caught again, I'm going to be in my kid's life and I'm not ever going to stop either."
Julie watched as he summoned Suzie from the bathroom and walked out the door, taking care to slam it as he left. He was using again, that much was clear to her. Anyone who thought you couldn't get drugs in prison what dumb as a box of rocks. He was a lot worse than he ever was before, he didn't even try to hide it. The Mac in her dream wasn't this one, but it didn't matter, what was that saying, the heart wants what the heart wants?
8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
"I heard Macerio is home," Izzy said to Julie that night when she brought her something to eat courtesy of Walter, and on the house, as was his usual for Isabelle. Julie stopped short in the kitchen as she put the bag on the counter, she had only been home five seconds and already she was irritated. Bad news sure traveled fast. Mac had been hanging around the bar, annoying the hell out of her and being suggestive every chance he got and Julie didn't want to go to sleep that night. If she had the dream again when she was fairly certain he was probably doing lines off some girls ass right now, she was going to scream. He made no effort to hide his whoring around as he might have before and he was high all the time.
The next night Walter planned to send Mac and Devon out on an errand to keep him busy and out of Julie's hair. They had to cook this weekend and Walter had already cautioned Mac about being all up in Julie's shit and making mistakes again. He got pulled over for a busted tail light because he was distracted by her and ended up doing five years, it was almost comical if it wasn't so fucking sad, Walter was not about that bullshit.
Business was business. Either he was in this time or he was out, there was no in between. If he wanted out that was fine, but it was clear that Mac had a tin to keep filled now. That was fine with Walter who now ran that business from afar, there were no more drug deals going down at the bar, in the years since Mac was gone, a lot had changed.
Walter was alright, he did right by her and Michael when Mac was sent away, and Julie never forgot that. Her parents had died long ago when Julie was ten, Izzy raised her and Walter had been a huge help to them. Long ago Izzy was his bartender, before Julie now, he still paid Izzy's health insurance premium, even though she hadn't worked for him since she got cancer, three years ago.
Both of their families went way back Izzy was the only one who called Mac by his full name, everyone else got a fist in the face, including Julie if they called him Macerio.
"Who did you hear that from?"
"Walter," Izzy laughed, "Bet he was glad to see you."
"Not so much..." She laughed, then watched a smile cross her aunt's lips, she was never going to let it go, "Forget it Iz, it's not gonna happen."
"It ain't over till the fat lady sings Juliet Irene, you just remember that." Izzy waved her finger at her as Julie brought her the food, bypassing her oxygen tubing and sitting down next to her on the couch.
"Why do you love him so much?" She asked as she placed everything on the table and helped Izzy unpack it, "He's a dick, he's gross and much worse than he used to be."
"That's easy," Izzy replied and met her eyes, "He loves you, mad, you're the only woman he's ever gonna love."
"He has a fuckin shitty way of showing it and you know it."
"You listen here, there ain't nothing that boy wouldn't do for you or that kid you got and you know it, that means something." She answered, "He made some mistakes, sure. Don't we all. Where has Jack been?"
"You know he's in basic," Julie told her for the millionth time it seemed.
"What's he ever done for you?" Isabelle pressed, "And don't tell me about that rock, cause anyone can go buy a big diamond, but when you need him, where is he?"
"I get it, I get it, you don't approve."
"Bingo!" Izzy said with a grin.
88888888888888888888888888888888
Mac's parole officer showed up a few weeks later and with a laugh that everyone heard Julie pointed him to Mac who was sitting at a table eyeballing her. She was more than happy to sick the officer on him and ruin his day. He had been trying to ruin hers for three weeks now and she was sick of him and his scowling face. She was sick of dreaming about him and watching him be all fucked up and dancing with every woman that came through the doors.
The guy didn't stay long and he didn't take him away in silver bracelets, unfortunately, and as soon as the cop was gone Mac was in her face. She had indeed ruined his day, mission accomplished, she smiled to herself. More than anything she wished he would just stop hanging around, but Walter had no work for him at the minute and Mac had pocketfuls of money to throw around.
"Thanks a lot, Julie," He said taking a swig of his beer, lately he was calling her Julie more often than Jules, his pet name for her. He only called her Julie when he was mad at her and since she refused him visitation with Michael he was calling her Julie again. If he was really, really pissed off he called her Juliet, her given name.
"You're welcome," She smiled as she wiped down the bar, "Guess you're already on his radar huh, imagine that."
"Couldn't you have given me a signal for old times sake?" He made an obscene sexual gesture with his hands and hips which only made her scowl at him.
"You were not that good a lay that I'll lie to for you to the cops." She replied with a laugh and that actually made him laugh. Clearly, she didn't remember things correctly.
"Oh fuck you, Juliet," Now he was using her full name, "I was the best you ever had and you know it." He set the beer down and smiled back at her, but it was a half menacing smile, "Quit denying it."
Her phone rang, they both looked at it and Mac grabbed for it but she was too quick. She picked it up and answered and Mac leaned in to see who she was talking to.
"Hey that Jack on the phone?" Mac asked and didn't wait for her to answer, "Tell him he's a dead man if he ever comes back here, I'm gonna gut him like a fish for touching you."
"Gow up!" She said as she moved away to speak with Jack.
"Don't care if he has a gun Jules," Mac pulled out his knife and made a swiping motion with it, "Gut him like a fish, you make sure you tell him."
Walter poked his head out of his office and motioned for Mac to come inside, he nodded his acknowledgment and turned back to her, "See ya around sweet cheeks, I'm ready for a game of pool whenever you are."
"Over my dead body," She called after him and he just laughed and flipped her the bird, this was OK with him, they were talking, their old banter was not dead yet.
"Geeze Jules, I sure hope it doesn't come to that." He said as he walked down the hall to meet with Walter, "By the way, take that fuckin ring off right now, you ain't marrying that prick. Tell Jack I said that too!" He bellowed as he left and Julie just shook her head and continued her phone call. He still thought all his problems could be solved with yelling and pushing people around, or being so charming that you doubted what you saw with your own eyes.